Animal group appeals for info on abandoned marmoset, python

An abandoned marmoset monkey, at left, and a ball python. Photos: ACRES/Facebook
An abandoned marmoset monkey, at left, and a ball python. Photos: ACRES/Facebook

One was thrown out with the trash; the other left to die. 

Animal advocates are appealing to the public for information about two exotic animals it said were kept illegally and then abandoned, resulting in one’s death. 

The Animal Concerns Research and Education Society, or ACRES, said yesterday that its wildlife rescue team was alerted to two recent incidents involving an injured marmoset and a ball python in a tied plastic bag. Unfortunately, the monkey, which is native to South America, had to be euthanized on “humane and welfare grounds.” The python is currently under its care. 

ACRES has reported both cases to NParks, which oversees the Animal and Veterinary Service. 

“We will greatly appreciate any information which will help us to continue the fight against the illegal wildlife trade. It is heart-breaking to witness such rescues. The suffering doesn’t end at the capture, sub-optimal conditions of breeding or smuggling, but illegal keeping of wildlife often culminates in such abandonment,” the animal group wrote online yesterday.

It said that the male monkey was found late last month in a tree at 701 Geylang Road, at which point it was taken to the Wildlife Reserves Singapore for examination. 

“The animal was very thin, and had signs of moderate to severe dental and gum disease, as well as tumours. The difficult decision was therefore made to euthanise on humane and welfare grounds,” it said. 

The ball python, usually found in Africa, was found June 1 by a cleaner tied in a plastic bag that had been thrown into the trash near the lift lobby of the public housing block at 52 Chin Swee Road. The group said the snake was now in its care.

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